1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of data processing. More particularly, this invention relates to the field of scanning computer files for unwanted properties, such as, for example, the presence of computer viruses or characteristics indicative of spam e-mail.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known to provide computer systems that computer files for computer viruses or properties indicative of spam e-mail. These known systems have settings which control which files are scanned (e.g. for virus protection, all files or possibly just executable files) and which tests are applied.
As the volume of computer data files requiring scanning for unwanted properties increases, this task requires more processing resources. This is further compounded by the fact that the number of computer viruses for which it is desired to scan or the number of characteristics of spam e-mail for which it is desired to test are also ever increasing. In this context, measures which can make the scanning of computer files for unwanted properties more efficient are strongly advantageous.